This week, Japan’s tourism minister announced that his country just passed an unprecedented milestone—already in 2016, more than 20 million people have visited the country, the most ever recorded. But that large influx of foreigners, both tourists and residents, can come with a price: racial intolerance. Now, writes Justin McCurry for The Guardian, concern about racism in Japan has prompted its justice ministry to survey 18,500 foreign residents about their experiences with racial discrimination.

It’s the first time Japan will conduct such a survey, reports McCurry. The 13-language questionnaire will ask foreign residents over the age of 17 to describe experiences with racial intolerance in the workplace and elsewhere. Since it’s unprecedented, the survey is expected to provide the first non-anecdotal glimpse into how Japan’s foreign population experiences racism.

The survey comes at a moment of change in Japanese society. Not only are tourist numbers up, but Japan reached an all-time high of long-term and permanent foreign residents last year. As Shusuke Murai reports for The Japan Times, 2.23 million people from other countries now live in Japan, with China, South Korea and the Philippines leading the list.

Just how bad is racism in Japan? That’s a question the survey will attempt to answer. Presumably the results will help inform policy for years to come.

Like this article?SIGN UP for our newsletter

About Erin Blakemore

Erin Blakemore is a Boulder, Colorado-based journalist. Her work has appeared in publications like The Washington Post, TIME, mental_floss, Popular Science and JSTOR Daily. Learn more at erinblakemore.com.